Sterilized brush.



F. J. WILD JR. 6L. A. J. GETTINGER.

STERILIZED BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED'AUG.H.1914.

Patented June 8, 1915.

THE'NORRIS Phlnkb (.14., rm/WL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS JOHN WILD, JR., AND ANDREW JOSEPH GETTINGER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

STERILIZED BRUSH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1915.

Application filed August 11, 1914. Serial No. 856,307.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that we, FRANCIS J. WILD, J1'., and ANDREW J. GETTINGER, citizens of the United States, residing at 3424 North Fourteenth street, in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful. Sterilized Brush, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brushes, and has for its main object to provide a sterilized brush that is particularly adapted for cleaning dental burs and broaches, but which can be used for various other purposes.

Another object is to provide a brush that has metal bristles and which comprises an electric heating device for maintaining said bristles at a sufficiently high temperature to carbonize any bacteria which may become deposited on the bristles or on the part of the brush that carries said bristles when the brush is in use. And still another ob]ect is to provide an electrically heated wire brush which is so designed that it can be used in place of the rotatable brushes that are now generally used on dental engines for cleaning dental burs and broaches.

Other objects and desirable features of our invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevational view of a brush constructed in accordance with our invention, and one means that may be employed for supporting the collector brushes which supply the electric current to the collector rings with which the electric heating device of the brush is connected. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of our improved brush.

\Vhile we have herein illustrated our invention embodied in a brush that is designed to be used on a dental engine for cleaning dental burs and broaches, we do not wish it to be understood that our invention is limited to a brush that is used for this purpose, or which is constructed in. the manner illustrated in the drawings, as our broad idea consists in a sterilized brush provided with metal bristles and a heating means that maintains said bristles at a sutliciently high temperature to destroy any bacteria that become deposited on same, thus keeping the brush clean and sterile at all times.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred form of our invention, A

designates the hub of the brush which consists of a sleeve that is adapted to be mounted on a shaft or other suitable operating device and rigidly secured thereto by a suitable means, such, for example, as a set screw R. The bristles G of the brush, which are formed of metal, preferably pieces of wire, are carried by a bristle holder F, which is also preferably formed of metal. The bristle holder F is insulated from the hub A of the brush by suitable insulating material arranged between said parts, and an electric heating element D is provided for heating the bristles so as to carbonize and thus destroy any bacteria that have become deposited on the bristles when the brush is in use. the brush herein shown the insulating means is formed by a plurality of members, such, for example, as a sleeve B which is secured to the hub A, a ring-shaped member K secured to the hub and butting against the inner end of said sleeve and a disk E mounted on said sleeve and projecting radially therefrom so as to form a flange against which one side of the bristle holder of the brush bears. The electric heating device D preferably consists of a platinum coil mounted on the sleeve B between the disk E and the ring-shaped member K and inclosed by a metal band or ring 1 whose side edge portions rest on shoulders on said disk and ring shaped member, said metal band being spaced away from the electric heating ele ment so that a short circuit will not be produced when said heating element is energized. The metal band 1 extends flush with the outer surface of the ring-shaped insulating member K so that the bristle holder will snugly embrace said band when the bristle holder is arranged in operative position, as shown in Fig. 8, the bristle holder being retained in position by means of a set screw or other suitable fastening device H whose inner end engages the insulator K.

The electric current used to energize the heating coil D is supplied to same by means of two collector rings 0 and two cooperating collector brushes U to which the supply conductors (not shown) are connected. One of the collector rings C is mounted on the insulating sleeve B at one side of the insulating disk E, and the other collector ring is seated in a groove or recess formed in the ring-shaped insulator K, the opposite ends of the heating coil D being secured to said collector rings by solder or in any other suitable manner. Any suitable means may be employed for holding the collector brushes U in such a manner that they will bear upon the collector rings, and thus conduct the electric current to the coil D when the brush is in use, the means herein shown consisting of an adjustable supporting structure which is so designed that it can be easily attached to a dental engine when our improved brush is mounted on the operating shaft of a dental engine. Said supporting means consists of a standard provided with a bifurcated portion Q that can be clamped to some suitable part of the engine by means of a clamping screw O,-for example, the bearing, in which the shaft rotates, an adjustable arm connected to said standard and an adjustable, yokeshaped member on said arm that carries the collector brushes, as shown in Fig. 1, the brushes U being connected to insulators T on said yoke-shaped member and the supply conductors being connected to suitable binding screws S on the collector brushes. The adjustable arm previously mentioned is formed by two plates L that embrace ball-shaped portions P on said standard and said yoke-shaped member, respectively, said plates being securely clamped to said ball-shaped portions by means of screws or bolts M that pass transversely through said plates. In view of the fact that the plates L are connected to the standard by a ball and socket connection and the yoke-shaped member is, in turn, connected to said plates L by a ball and socket connection, it is possible to use this type of supporting structure with various kinds of dental machines by simply loosening the clamping screws M and arranging the support, arm and yoke-shaped member in proper position with relation to each other, so as to cause the collector brushes U to bear firmly on the collector rings C. The yoke-shaped member is preferably jointed, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to further facilitate the adjustment of the structure and insure a snug bearing of the collector brushes on the collector rings when the apparatus is used on certain types of dental engines.

When the coil D is energized the heat that radiates from same will heat the bristles G of the brush and maintain them at a sufficiently high temperature to absolutely destroy any bacteria that have become de' posited on the bristles during the operation of cleaning dental burs, broaches or other kinds of surgical instruments, consequently, such a brush is a decided improvement on the bristle brushes now generally used on dental machines, which frequently collect various forms of bacteria that cannot be removed by the method now generally used to sterilize dental brushes.

Our improved brush is so designed that small space and is conducted directly to the bristles of the brush. Furthermore, the brush is so designed that there is no liability of a short circuit being created when the brush is in use, nor is there any possi-- bility of breaking or disarranging the heating coil during the operation of removing or applying the bristle holder F.

Still another desirable feature of our improved brush is that the bristle holder is separate and distinct from the hub portion that contains the electric heating device, consequently, when the bristles become worn, a new bristle holder can be substituted without making any changes in the hub portion of the brush.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: i

1. A rotatable brush provided with a metalhc cleaning element, and means for en-- abling said cleaning element to be heated from a source of electrical energy.

A rotatable brush provided with a hub that is adapted to be connected to an oper ating shaft, metal bristles, and an electric heating device for heating said bristles.

A brush provided with a hub that is adapted tobe connected to an operating shaft, a bristle holder provided with metal bristles, an electric heating device for heating said bristles, and means for insulating said heating device from said hub.

l. A brush provided with a hub that is adapted to be connected to an operating shaft, a bristle holder provided with metal bristles mounted on said hub, insulating means arranged between said bristle holder and hub, and an electric heating device for heating said bristles.

5. A rotatable brush provided with metal bristles, an electric heating device for heating said bristles, and means for supplying electric current to said heating device when the brush is in operation.

6. A brush provided with a rotatable hub, metal bristles, an electric heating device for heating said bristles, collector rings secured to said heating device, and collector brushes cooperating with said collector rings and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical energy.

7. A brush provided with a hub, insulating material on said hub, collector rings set in said insulating material, a bristle holder surrounding said insulating material and provided with wire bristles, and an electric heating device arranged in a pocket in said insulating material and electrically connected to said collector rings.

8. In a dental engine, the combination of an operating shaft, a brush mounted on said shaft and provided with metal bristles, an electric heating device arranged on the hub portion of the brush for maintaining said bristles at a high temperature, collector rings connected to said heating device, collector brushes cooperating with said rings, and an adjustable supporting structure that carries said collector brushes.

9. In a dental engine, the combination of an operating shaft, a wire bristle brush mounted on said shaft and equipped with an electric heating device, collector rings connected to said heating device, collector brushes cooperating with said rings to sup ply electric current to said heating device, and a supporting structure for said collector brushes carried by some part of the dental engine and designed in such a manner that it can be adjusted in various positions.

DB. FRANCIS JOHN WILD, JB., D. D. S. ANDREW JOSEPH GETTINGER. Witnesses:

CHARLES A. WYERs, ROBERT F. STANTON.

Copiee of thil patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

